A rare, 'magical' visit from a brilliantly colored bird draws crowds to Maryland park

[Duppers]

https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-apps/imrs.php?src=

It’s unclear why the bird made its way this far north, but the painted bunting is one of several species included in a recently published study from the National Audubon Society demonstrating that climate change is causing a shift in birds’ ranges during winter and breeding seasons.


https://www.washingtonpost.com/dc-md-va/2021/01/03/painted-bunting-great-falls-bird-watchers/

[50 Shades Of Blue]

1. What a beauty!

[magicarpet]

2. Well jeez,... I have never had ones of those at my feeders.

Send him up here to Maine,... I will feed him anything he wants.

Look at all the colors,... it looks like a box of crayons.

[Skittles]

3. THAT BIRD THINKS HE IS ALL THAT

and.......he is

[BusyBeingBest]

4. Handsome and he knows it.

[Bayard]

5. Fashion plate

He can't decide what color he wants to be, so he's trying them all.

We get the regular blue buntings here sometimes. They are gorgeous.

[Demovictory9]

6. Poor thing. I hope he brought some friends

[flamingdem]

7. Wow! What a beauty

[I_UndergroundPanther]

8. If I saw that bird

I'd think I was hallucinating. Wow what an awesome bird.
And he chose Maryland to visit,I am honored pretty bird.

[Catbird]

9. Not rare in South Carolina

Forget Lindsey Graham and Tim Scott. South Carolina has Painted Buntings!! They breed here.

[Duppers]

10. We live in a state-designated bird sanctuary

Here in the southeastern corner of Virginia. And there are serious "birdwatchers" living here in our big neighborhood who claim to have seen one. I haven't.

We do have all kinds of finches, blue birds, cardinals, eagles, hawks (my poor squirrels), ducks, geese, and my favorite - the swans, although I've not seen those down on our lake for a few winters now.

When I think of birdwatchers, I think of the movie "The Big Year." Loved that silly movie.

[Tanuki]

11. My late parents, who lived in West Virginia, were not actual "birders" but

took great pleasure in observing the very active birdlife around our home (we lived in the woods). On a trip to South Carolina, they visited the Beidler National Forest and my mom was especially thrilled to see her first (bright yellow) prothonotary warbler there. She said she knew about it because it came up in testimony at the Whittaker Chambers trial many years before! I don't think they saw a painted bunting, as I'm pretty sure they would have mentioned it. We frequently saw its cousin, the indigo bunting, in our woods. I love South Carolina and am overdue for a trip. I have vowed to spend some vacation money there to thank y'all for getting Joe Biden back in serious contention during the primaries!